January 25th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 Recently, Joc Pederson’s name has come up as a player the Dodgers have been discussing with other teams in trade scenarios, a situation which grew exponentially on Thursday when the Dodgers acquired free agent outfielder A.J. Pollock, thereby making a Pederson trade very likely.
A potential Pederson trade really comes as no surprise considering that the Dodgers have so many left-handed-hitting outfielders and that Joc will be a free agent after the 2020 season. In addition, Joc just finished a season where he significantly reduced his strike out rate, finished with an .843 OPS, and hit 25 home runs, so there appear to be several teams that are interested.
In 1998 the Dodgers had a first baseman, Eric Karros, in his prime and young, highly regarded prospect Paul Konerko in waiting. The Dodgers decided to trade Konerko and pitching prospect Dennys Reyes to the Cincinnati Reds for All-Star closer, Jeff Shaw. The Reds, in turn, flipped Konerko to the Chicago White Sox, where he would remain for the next 17 seasons until retiring following the 2014 season with an outstanding .279 / .354 / .486 / .841 career slash-line, 439 career home runs, and 1,412 career RBI.
At the time of the trade, many Dodger fans thought the Dodgers were making a huge mistake by not keeping Konerko and moving him to left field, but the decision makers decided the Shaw was needed to reach the World Series, which, of course, they did not.
But Konerko and Pederson are more dissimilar than similar: by position, right-handed vs. left-handed, one who hit both right-handers and left-handers, the other a clear platoon-type hitter. But, if you throw out Pederson’s horrid 2017 stats (323 plate appearances) he has averaged over 25 home runs in seasons 2015, 2016, and 2018, with an OPS over .800.
Was Pederson’s breakout 2018 season an anomaly or was it an example of what’s to come? With maturity and five seasons now under his belt, the consensus among many Dodger fans is that it’s the latter.
Although many – perhaps even most – Dodgers fans would not be opposed to trading Joc Pederson, the return in players and / or prospects must be substantial in order to avoid another Konerko-type trade blunder.
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Nope… Konerko had way more talent than Joc.
I thought the point was making certain that Dodgers receive a fair return for Pederson as opposed to what team got for Konerko?
I think the important thing is, will it be a good trade for the Dodgers? Meaning that they won’t feel like they do about Konerko. I, like I think most Dodger fans, are looking for a trade for Realmuto. Although, I hate to see anyone from the everyday lineup get traded, It won’t hurt, as much, if a deal involving Pederson brings in Realmuto.
Konerko I don’t feel was given as much time as Joc. I’ve been waiting for the 30/30 minor league Joc… https://t.co/bzyGdkeucQ
I don’t consider Joc anything close to an every day player with his ugly splits, and even being benched on a regular basis due to production.
I don’t normally report “rumors” but this one is too big to not. 2 separate sources say Joc has been traded to the Sox for 3 players. 1 separate source says Dodgers and Marlins and deal in place to send prospects from the Dodger’s and the Sox trade to Marlins for Realmuto. Sorry if this turns out to be bogus but WOW if it’s true.
I consider all position players on the Dodgers as on the everyday lineup, since many of them are platooned and pretty much play everyday.
It must have been you who reported this on Dodgers Nation then and who knows? But we most likely will find out about this in the days to come so WSS.
if traded… of course. Any top Dodger who currently platoons would excel elsewhere if given a chance… https://t.co/g2mWLLYFDD
Or the next Russell Martin?
Realmuto would be a great addition but they would be much better off concentrating on Kluber. They do have Martin now….not a Realmuto but not terrible but games are won with pitching and defense and knowing the heAlth issues the pitching staff has had over the years…Klubers is more of a need than Realmuto. I also think a one for one swap Muncy for Bennett and then maybe go after Marte. It’s doable.
Only thing is that I am not sure if Indians are still considering moving Kluber.
Konerko hit .215 in one season with the Dodgers. Went to Cincinatti, and then the White Sox, before h… https://t.co/jp3PHiv7yV
seriously, who could have predicted that skinny kid would gain so much muscle and become sooo strong?
joc hits the ball as hard as anybody but has always been prone to the K and is redundant, with his $5M he’s not as valuable in trade. i would trade belly, martin and one of smith/cartaya/wong for realmuto. i know people are going to freak but from a position of redundancy and return value, thats what id do. we have several excellent 1B in the system. that should work for MIA. if ruiz is ready next year realmuto is a huge trade chip otherwise he’s a free agent next winter. we’ll still have 4 quality young catchers one or two years closer to the show.
Never trade Bellinger even straight up for realmutto. A gold glove 23 yr old
who hit 39 and 26 homers and plays gold glove first base and plays a great outfield for 2 years of a catcher. Never.
gold glove? when? did i miss something?
what i do know is that, in two years he has 64HR and 297Ks and 45 in the post season (17 in a WS that was lost by one game and two of those in extra innings)he has value on the field and as a trade piece. its a business put your heart away and make good business decisions.
Hello there! And to be sure, Bellinger should not or will not be going anywhere. Trade with marlins was not going to happen if marlins kept insisting on Bellinger in the deal. Dodgers have other chips they can move.
The issue also is as follows:
1-Can you keep Pederson and Verdugo and Toles if Pollock takes over in CF against lefties for sure and Bells plays rf. This leaves only 1 position for Verdugo Pederson Kiki or CT3 plus Toles-this cant happen. Keeping Joc P or Verdugo is a bigger question that has to be answered.
If Verdugo goes in the trade for Realmuto than you keep Pederson. So than the question for the article becomes Joc P or Verdugo which has more potential to turn out to be the next Konerko?? I think its Verdugo.
Just my opinion: Any big deal will involve Verdugo. That’s just the way it is.
Bob, and BTW that was my late older brother’s name, who was a good 1st baseman, LH hitter in his own right throughout his HS years, but never turned pro. And I know many here are thrilled about Verdugo’s presence this year but the fact is that he’s one of a plethora of LH hitters on this roster. And IMHO if Verdugo is the one who gets this deal done for Realmuto then so be it. We will not lose out on another chance at the WS if we traded away Verdugo.
Don’t trade Joc
No. Maybe end up a coach somewhere eventually.
His swing and body says otherwise.
Pedro Martinez for Delino DeShields was a worse trade than Konerko for Shaw.
Without a doubt! But hopefully a Konerko for Shaw type deal will not be repeated.
this one one of the best trade they ever made on paper with the worst results of any trade ever made. on paper we had a deep deep stack of pitchers and we were hurting for 2nd basemen(losing EY in the draft left us without a solid 2B for years to come). in reality Delino was miserable here. he was, for the most part, the only English speaking black guy and didn’t feel like he fit in with any clique. he dint want to hit lead off and then he had his face smashed. he couldn’t wait to get out of here. he went to StL and went right back to being the .295 hitter he was in MTL. he led the league in 3Bs and raised his OPS 300 points to 800+
on the flip side, the trade put a fire in Pedro’s belly that he referred to several times over his career. he was determined to show LA they made a mistake. might be, had he stayed, he would have been every bit as good as Ramon.we’ll never know. i do wish we would have signed him instead of facing him in 09.
But at the time delino was a terrific player for the expos and was a big base stealer. He was just awful as a dodger after the trade.
Who would have thought Pedro would become a starting pitcher and be so effective and eventually a hall of famer and one of the all time greats.
“Who would have thought Pedro would become a starting pitcher and be so effective”
Even if the Dodgers couldn’t see the future Pedro was a hell of a reliever. Wasn’t it Lasorda who couldn’t see past his skinny physique and recommended trading Pedro?
The Dodgers were in need of a second baseman due to Jody Reed’s unreasonable salary demand. If my memory is accurate he signed with Montreal for less than the Dodgers were offering him.
Bob, Jody Reed if I recall was offered a 3 year deal but his agent thought he could do better elsewhere and ultimately signed for much less with the Padres if I recall. But the big reason he did not want to return was because of Jose Offerman, the Dodger’s SS at that time. In fact Reed actually told Fred Claire and that FO …” You won’t win with the SS you have.
No
@DodgerFanWeekly Oh Damn… Paul Kenerko! Haven’t heard of him I while but I say looks that way.
Does anyone else remember that Tommy was the acting GM when Konerko was traded away for Shaw AND that it was Tommy who felt Pedro was too small to last physically as a starting pitcher?
I’m not entirely blaming him for both trades but it’s inportant to remember that even people we regard highly make the best decisions they can with the info they have at the time and sometimes make a BAD decision.
I hate the idea of trading away Joc, Ruiz – who some think will mature into another Yadier Molina – or Verdugo either when we have multiple experienced big league catchers on the roster and two on the cusp. Realistically, how many teams make it to three consecutive Workd Series in a row anyway?
Yes, I remember. I also remember how many Dodgers’ fans were unhappy with the trades at the time they were made. I trust Friedman to make better decisions, and if Pederson is traded that the return will be substantial.